


I Don't Care Who Sees

by drop_in_the_ocean



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Eventual Fluff, F/F, Inspired by Real Events, Mimo, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:00:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21759466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drop_in_the_ocean/pseuds/drop_in_the_ocean
Summary: It certainly isn't the first dance routine they have to do together. So why does everything feel different this time around?A multi-chapter fic based off Momo's and Mina's Crazy In Love dance performance on the show "Hit The Stage", following (and reimagining) real life events.
Relationships: Hirai Momo/Myoui Mina
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	1. You Got Me

**Author's Note:**

> a couple of things to keep in mind before reading:
> 
> \- this is my first fic so ~low expectations only  
> \- i've done research but i'm sure there are gonna be things that aren't logistically accurate (especially regarding Hit The Stage and the way it was filmed) sooooo suspension of disbelief is the key here lmao  
> \- i really wanted to focus on mina's and momo's relationship; there are gonna be mentions of other characters and events but the main storyline is gonna revolve around mimo  
> \- english isn't my first language but i'm trying ok  
> \- enjoy!

“Really? You’ll do it?”

“Of course I’ll do it, Momoring. I thought you’d never ask”.

Momo could virtually hear her best friend smiling through the phone. “I know it’s a bit... Risky, given the theme and all, but I really couldn’t think of a better partner.” She heard the girl let out a light chuckle on the other side of the line. “ _Dance_ partner”, Momo swiftly added with a hint of panic in her voice. Panic? Mina could’ve sworn she wasn’t imagining it. “Momo, you don’t have to explain yourself, I already said I’d do it. I’m really happy that you asked me, actually, out of all the people. I’m sure there are dancers in your crew who are far more qualified.” Momo wished her friend could see how hard she rolled her eyes just now. “There’s not a single person I’d rather do this with, Minari.” The younger girl caught her own smile lingering a little longer than she was willing to admit. Did Momo’s words always have this kind of effect on her? She had trouble remembering. “May I ask why you’re calling me on the phone when we’re literally a room apart?” Momo was the one who was smiling now. “Are you saying that you’d like to see me? You know you don’t have to beat around the bush like that, Minari. All you gotta do is ask.” She wasn’t even sure where this sudden rush of bravery was coming from but she decided to keep going. “Hasn’t it been, like, 20 minutes since we last saw each other? I had no idea you were this needy.”

Mina wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of teasing, of course, but lately, for reasons unknown, she began analyzing every single word that was coming out of Momo’s mouth. She thought it was the silliest thing in the world, because Momo isn’t the kind of person to make you read between her lines… Most of the time. The very first words she uttered to Mina back when they first met were “You’re a really good dancer. I couldn’t stop staring at your arms.” Momo never really bothered to elaborate on that remark, and Mina never asked about the correlation. She just assumed it was a compliment. A weird one, but a compliment nonetheless.

She suddenly realized she started brushing these thoughts off rather late, as the girl on the other line chimed in with a short but effective “Left you speechless?” Mina felt a burning wave coloring her cheeks. It’s been happening a lot lately. “Oh, sorry, were you speaking? I zoned out the minute I heard smugness in your voice.” She managed to recover and hit back. Nothing short of impressive, given the state she was currently in. “Fair enough”, the older one replied, noticeably amused. She was enjoying their light banter way too much.

-

6 AM. On their day off. Mina had to be in the dance studio at 6 AM because Momo apparently doesn’t know what sleep is. She was aware of how important this is to her best friend and was absolutely willing and determined to do anything to support her, not because Momo asked, but because Mina wanted to. That doesn’t necessarily abolish her right to whine about getting up this early, though.

She was nearly done warming up when she felt a pair of lips gently placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. To say that her whole body quivered would be a serious understatement. “What was that for?”, she asked as nonchalantly as she possibly could, hoping Momo was too oblivious to notice the tremulousness in her voice.

“Just felt like thanking you for doing this with me. I know the choreographer isn’t gonna be here before 8 AM, but I wanted us to play off each other for a bit before he arrives. Does that sound good?” Mina nodded without hesitation. How could it not sound good? If there was anything she loved more than dancing, it was dancing with Momo. Ever since their trainee days, the girls enjoyed sharing the stage together. Stage back then, as you would imagine, usually wasn’t anything other than the dance studio they all had practices in, or the dorm they shared, or even that small balcony at the end of the hallway on the fifth floor. It didn’t matter, really, as long as they got to do it with each other. Every new move they learned, any new idea for the next practice, anything remotely related to moving in rhythm just had to be immediately exchanged between the pair. They found comfort in the fact that, along with Sana, they were on this journey together. The Japanese Trio. Inseparable from the moment they met; shared the dream from the moment they met; promised they would debut together the moment they met. 

And now, years later, Mina is standing in front of Momo in a dance studio – a scenario she isn’t unaccustomed to in the slightest – only this time, everything is different. Not _bad_ different, not at all. Just different. The younger girl suddenly became painfully aware of the theme for the next “Hit The Stage” episode.


	2. This Love

Momo didn’t know it would be this hard. 

She was not aware in the slightest that the show would take such an emotional toll on her. The physical aspect was barely an issue compared to how she was feeling inside. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate the opportunity to showcase her talent in an entirely different light (she doubted she’d get to do a sexy vampire concept with the girls any time soon); it’s the structure of the competition itself. It’s the fact that all those people in the audience have their eyes glued to the stage, attentively soaking in every move she makes. All while comparing her to the other dancers, judging her missteps, voting for their favorite act... Again.

It all just seemed a little too familiar, and while she kept reminding herself that she’s also in it to have fun, there were some annoyingly persistent thoughts that were quite hard to shake off. Luckily for Momo, there was no elimination process this time, but that still didn’t mean she was in a position to unwind entirely – not when this was her final appearance on the show, since the girls had just received the news they would be performing at the annual JYP Nation concert this year for the very first time. As if all of this wasn’t overwhelming enough, there was currently another thing - nay, person - on the infinite list of notions inhabiting her mind.

Momo really didn’t know falling for her best friend would be this hard. 

–

“I’m absolutely in love with that concept.”

“You don’t think it’s too much?”

The young man smirked. “Momo, when have you ever been too much?”

Both Momo and Mina eased into a laugh. Hong Hun Pyo was arguably one of the best choreographers they had the chance to work with, not only because he was incredibly skilled, but because he knew exactly how to make everyone around him feel safe and comfortable. There were no bad ideas with Hun Pyo, only ideas that “haven’t quite been thought through”. Make no mistake, though – this dance veteran was able to spot every single faux pas, and he was not shy to let you know about it either. The fondness the girls felt towards him, however, was very much mutual and at this point it really felt like it was just three old friends hanging out in an empty, mirror-filled room.

Momo had just finished explaining her elaborate idea for the performance and in theory, it sounded pretty simple. All they had to was portray a toxic, dysfunctional relationship where one of the partners is obsessed with the other to the point of locking them up in a cage – both metaphorically and literally, which ultimately results in the other person’s death. Okay, perhaps “simple” isn’t the best way to put it, but it is definitely conceptual, sad, haunting and straight to the point. It’s also a love story between two women.

When Momo first told Mina about the concept, the younger girl didn’t even hesitate. After all, the next week’s Hit The Stage episode _is_ titled This Love, and Mina was perfectly aware that said love comes in many different shapes and forms. She was also aware of the fact that she lives in a society that doesn’t exactly share her sentiment on the topic. None of that mattered, though, because the story they were going to tell was far bigger than anyone’s self-righteousness and misconceptions.

When Momo first told Mina about it, there really was no hesitation.

But being in this room with her best friend right now, getting ready to display a level of intimacy that was absolutely foreign to them both, Mina couldn’t help but feel like she may have not entirely thought this through. She also couldn’t pinpoint the exact instant her entire body started feeling enervated, but she was pretty sure it was some moments ago, when Momo had delicately placed her hand around Mina’s waist.

“Maybe we should stand like this for a few seconds, before I push you to the ground.”

Maybe.

“Or, wait, I should grab your face instead”, the older girl suggested and her hands immediately followed. A tight grip pulled Mina in effortlessly and her face was now inches away from Momo’s, swiftly going through all the shades of red. The air around her must’ve somehow swallowed itself, she thought, as she was finding it almost impossible to catch a breath. Has this room always been this windowless?

“Wow, Mina, I didn’t know you were so method. I was gonna say you’re supposed to look petrified but it seems like you’re already in character.” Hun Pyo was not being sarcastic in the slightest, and Mina could tell by the way he was dramatically clutching his chest as if he had just witnessed the greatest cinematic cliffhanger of his entire life. Of course, that makes perfect sense. She was acting. Why else would she be this transfixed? She switched all of her attention back to Momo who was now slowly backing away with a look that the younger girl had trouble identifying. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes glued to Mina’s, almost as if _she_ was the one trying to decipher what was going on inside the other one’s head. This was enough to put Mina back into the initial panic mode, and as she was trying to compose herself she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind:”Maybe we should work on the dance moves first. Instead of acting, I mean. It will be easier once we get the technical side of it out of the way.” Momo was still eerily quiet, a state so unnerving to Mina that she felt like she might collapse at any given moment.

“Actually”, the older girl finally broke the silence, “I think this was enough for today.”

–

Momo didn’t know it would be this hard.

It’s not that she ever thought there was a chance. She was fully aware that all the longing glances were something the younger girl did without really thinking about it. She always assumed that all the back hugs and random pecks on the cheek from time to time meant something to only one of them, and that was okay.

But seeing Mina be that terrified by the mere _idea_ of sharing a tiny portion of the inclination Momo has had towards her for the past two years made her feel sensations she couldn’t have anticipated.

Momo really didn’t know falling for her best friend would ever drive a wedge between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well that escalated quickly. i didn’t plan on all the ~aNgSt happening this early in the story but here we are. i hope you liked this chapter and if you have anything to say, i’d love to read it in the comments :) thanks for reading!


	3. Cheer Up, Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta'd. enjoy!

The ride back home was anything but comfortable. They were definitely speaking to each other, no doubt about that. Just not the way they normally do. Momo would emit a sound every now and then, usually in the form of a brief question (“Can you roll the window down a bit?” being the most frequent one), and Mina was trying her hardest not to give the restraint in Momo’s voice more meaning than it might have had. 

Emphasis on “trying”. 

“Are you okay?” She already knew the answer.

“My stomach still hurts, if that’s what you’re asking.” Momo knew that wasn’t at all what Mina was asking.

“Right. We’re close to the dorm.”

Silence.

“Do you think it was something you ate today?”

“Possibly.” 

The lack of substance in Momo’s replies was in large compensated by the weight her words carried. And perhaps if Mina knew just how much the older girl hated herself for acting this way, she would’ve been able to hold said weight without letting it crush her. She carefully observed how Momo’s eyes fixated on everything around her, from the busy streets outside, to the phone in her hands, even the empty seat in front of her... Everything _but Mina._

The younger girl was really eager to give her friend the benefit of the doubt, but she knew very well that the dance practice did not end too soon because of how Momo was feeling physically. She knew that because she was able to see it - in Momo’s eyes, in Momo’s posture; it was as if everything suddenly stopped making sense, and all of the things they thought they knew about each other started taking an entirely different shape that Mina was yet to construe.

The ride to the dorm seemed to be getting more tense by the minute and both girls had trouble sitting still. One of them, in particular, couldn’t take it any longer. The sudden need to look to her right was painfully hard to ignore, and at this point, Mina had no choice but to give in. Ever so subtly, she directed her attention towards Momo’s face - or Momo’s lips, to be more precise. At least that’s where it started. She caught her own gaze lowering significantly, slowly tracing her friend’s neck, then bouncing up to her lips again, then sliding briskly down to her shoulders, and then her collar bones, and then...

“Momo, are we going slowly enough?”, their manager spoke up from the driver’s seat.

Momo was clearly out of it and it almost looked like she needed a second to grasp why Kim Na-Yeon was even asking her that in the first place, but she seemed to have quickly recollected. “It’s perfectly fine, unnie. Thank you for asking.”

Mina wasn’t staring at her friend anymore. She did wonder, though, why it took every ounce of strength she had not to look back again. That urge was suddenly brought to a halt by the very recent memory of being in that dance studio with Momo, her cheeks cupped in the older girl’s hands, the space between them becoming significantly smaller; the image of Momo staring at her in silence (and possible realization) was embedded clearly in her mind - that, and how whatever Mina had felt in that moment made Momo want to leave.

Myoui Mina wasn’t sure what it was that she was feeling. One thing was certain, though: she was never going to let Momo catch a glimpse of it again.

-

“I know this is _so_ unlike you, but are you sure you’re not just being paranoid?”

Momo instantly dismissed her friend’s sarcastic, albeit justified, remark. “No, this was different.” She noticed the girl wasn’t entirely convinced.

“You said that the last two times as well.”

“Look, you weren’t there, Sana. I’ve never seen her like that. Her face... I can’t even explain it. She knows. I‘m sure she does.” Momo pulled the blanket over her face as the sign of frustration, embarrassment and distress all at once. It was only the two of them in the room at the moment, but that still didn’t stop Sana from being in the same bed as Momo, legs wrapped around her, disregarding the concept of personal space as a whole. In other words, she was being Sana.

“Okay, let’s say you’re right. Let’s say Mina cracked it. Do you really think it would make her freak out? It’s our Minari we’re talking about here; you know she’s not like that.”

Momo’s muffled voice somehow made its way out. “She literally said she wanted to do the choreo instead of the acting part. The minute we started, Sana.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean she was uncomfortable with you touching-“

“That’s exactly what it means.” Momo was leaving no space for other options. She knows what she saw and frankly, what else could it be?

Sana slowly took the blanket off Momo’s face. “You really need to talk to her, you know? You’ve been avoiding her all day.” She was telling the truth, and Momo was aware of that. She was also aware that she had no right to be mad at Mina in the slightest, and she wasn’t, not really; she was heartbroken. But it wasn’t Mina’s fault, and while she felt truly horrible about the way she acted this morning, there was a part of her that almost couldn’t forgive Mina for not feeling the same way about her.

It was completely irrational, of course, and luckily she had her best friend to remind her of that. In fact, she had her best friend remind her of various things throughout the years, and she truly wondered where or _who_ she would be right now had she never met Sana. It really was an immediate connection for both girls; at first sight, at first dance practice, at first sleepover. Momo remembers it all – every single reason why she fell for the dark-haired girl from Osaka the day they met.

It was almost impossible to not notice her, to not want to be around her, to not desire to be her friend; Sana’s ever-so-bright smile, echoing laughter, buoyant personality and uncompromising bluntness made her nothing less than endearing to every person who’s had the chance to meet her, and Momo couldn’t help but feel incredibly fortunate that she gets to spend every single day with someone she truly considers family. That’s not to say that the other girls aren’t just as important to her, of course. But if Momo was to ever believe in soulmates, she would argue that everyone has two – one whose entire essence is inextricably intertwined with yours, and the other one who is just the same, but you also want to kiss them on occasion. And it was very clear to Momo from the beginning who those two people were for her.

The most liberating part of this whole hypothetical soulmate scenario, however, was that she didn’t need to say these things to Sana, because she already knew. So Momo opted for the next best thing.

“Satang?”

“Yes, Moguri?”

“Remember that time you got kicked out of the dance practice because you sneaked some food in?”

Sana’s mouth widened. She didn’t mean for it to come to this, but in all fairness, she had been provoked. “Alright, that’s it. Get out of the bed.” Her hands made their way to Momo’s waist in a swift motion, and before Momo could even think about shielding herself from it, the tickle sensation knocked her down to the floor.

“You’re in _my_ room, Sana!”

The girl somehow managed to catch a breath in between the laughing fits she was currently having and playfully pointed Momo to the door. “We’re switching rooms for the night. Trust me, you’ll be doing Jeongyeon a favor.”

-

The past week hasn’t been easy for the girls, but all the exhaustion aside, it has been extremely rewarding. And even though they desperately craved at least an afternoon off, they truly appreciated every single opportunity they’ve gotten so far. “Cheer Up” becoming a certified all-kill was something they still had trouble wrapping their heads around and promoting the new EP has been every bit of exciting, today being no exception.

It’s also been a week since Mina had a normal interaction with Momo.

She hadn’t even considered asking her about the next dance practice, partly because of their busy schedule but mostly because she didn’t know how to. It was ridiculous, Mina thought, having this new-found fear of speaking to someone that’s been in her life since the beginning of this journey, someone she never thought she could go a day without talking to. And it’s not like Momo was avoiding her per se, but it just wasn’t the same and the younger girl started fearing it never would be again. What infuriated Mina even more was the fact that she was the one responsible for this whole mess, and she wasn’t even sure what kind of “mess” she was referring to at this point.

Mina _was_ sure, however, that today when they had a radio appearance on Power FM, she felt agitated at the sight of Momo resting her head on Chaeyoung’s shoulder for what she thought was a bit too long. She was also sure that Dahyun cupping Momo’s face at the MWAVE Meet & Greet some time later caused her to become incredibly flustered. And she could hardly deny that seeing Momo dance to random songs in an outfit that accentuated every curved line on her body made her shiver with a sensation she didn’t want to discern.

Myoui Mina was now almost sure of what these feelings were.

And she was sure she would never let Momo know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sana makes an appearance, yay!! i really want to somehow incorporate all the members into the story so we'll see how it goes from here, but again, the focus is gonna be on mimo obvs. i hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you wanna let me know what you thought, leave a comment, any sort of feedback is much appreciated :) thanks for reading!


End file.
